What is Biblical tolerance?

Tolerance is from a Latin word, tolerantia, which meant endurance. The idea is that one “puts up” with someone else’s lifestyle choices. This was the meaning that most of our American forefathers had when they began teaching about tolerance. The idea of putting up with someone else’s wrong belief is intrinsic to the beginning usage of this word. We are to endure one another’s choices, even though they may set our teeth on edge.

When I study American history, I find the early immigrants to be people tired from being persecuted, mainly for their religious beliefs. Many, but not all, of the original colonies were settled by people who came across the ocean to find freedom to worship in the way that they chose. Roman Catholics settled Maryland, Baptists settled Rhode Island, Virginia was full of Anglicans, and Puritans settled Massachusetts. Each sect did not give up their beliefs when they formed the United States; rather they sought to keep and preserve their religious differences through state’s rights, something that figured very prominently in our early history. Thus, our forefathers tolerated, or endured other belief systems, and expected toleration of their belief system in return.

However, today’s tolerance has come to mean something quite different from endurance. Many take tolerant to be a synonym for permissiveness. I was explaining this definition of tolerance to a liberal friend once, whose countenance fell rather dramatically when she at last understood my definition of tolerance. “Eww!” She exclaimed, “I don’t think of tolerance in that way at all.” In her mind, I daresay, tolerance had come to mean a permissiveness accompanied almost by an embracing of what is different. Culture was the main medium to introduce this heresy back into modern thought (for it has entered into our thoughts many times before), and today, we are all taught not just to tolerate other cultures, but to embrace all cultures as having equivalent value—on the face of it, an illogical and thus preposterous notion.

Sometimes when I am trying to share what a life changing experience knowing Jesus has been, I am met with the casual comment: “Well, I suppose its wonderfully good for you to believe that, and I am glad for you.” There is a prevalent hidden seed from, perhaps, the dogma of toleration, where when one is challenged to change their lifestyle and believe God, they are able to defend themselves, saying tacitly, my beliefs work for me just as well. But, of course, they do not. Toleration has so confused their thinking that they no longer think in terms of right and wrong, but merely in what works for you or what works for me. In terms of moving away from Christianity, this generation’s move has been colossal.

My father’s generation, who for the most part did not know Christ, knew at least there was a right and a wrong. They may not have been able to point to the reason for right and wrong—most did not know the Source of morality—but they passionately embraced their notions of right and wrong. Most of the time their notions were fairly close. But the modern generation has lost any notion of morality—and that is bound to lead to deep disaster. Tolerance and inclusiveness are the deceivers of the day; it takes a rare person to build a foundation of morality other than that which the state routinely sets out.

Biblical tolerance was introduced in New Testament times when such a thing was almost unknown. I find it an irony that Paul is often berated for his attitude towards women, but most of the epic-setting free tolerance statements that we have, also come from Paul. Let’s examine the main toleration passages that he wrote, and try to contextualize them to see what they meant during Paul’s time. There are two epic toleration passages to look at:
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:13

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28


In these statements, evaluate for a moment just exactly what Paul was saying. He made Gentiles to be the equal of Jews, something that no good Jew of that day would ever have done. He made slaves to be the equivalent of their masters. He made male and female to be equal, something that would have been tantamount to rebellion against all the known rules of that day. The barriers of race are crossed here, and those barriers have forever been thrown down. With these two statements, Paul was negating the values and traditions of all of the known world.

However, as ecstatic as I am about these two great passages, there is one caveat. All belonged to the same club—to one Spirit—Paul says, or we are all in Christ Jesus. All were Christians. And here is one of the main differences in tolerance, as it is being taught today. All of us are together, but only if we are in Christ. We are to be tolerant, yea, more than tolerant, loving and giving toward one another. We are “to esteem others as better than ourselves” says Paul in another place.

And for the Christian, there is to be another deep difference in toleration. Jude tells us that, instead of embracing their different lifestyle, that we saints are to be merciful to those who doubt, snatching others from the fire and save them. . . hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (v.22,23) Somehow, our society has fallen into the trap of comparing lifestyles one with another. But there is no, not one, lifestyle which will please our Lord. It is not a question about whether you are as good, or better, or worse, than me. It is altogether another question. How will you stand before God? There is only one way—and that way is through faith that leads to repentance for what we are. Not one person will stand before God and be able to justify himself on the basis of being a little better than his neighbor.

Before I conclude, I ought to say something about that parenthetical remark above—this kind of modern tolerance has entered our society before. Though I know little of the study of the rise and fall of civilizations, it seems to me, at least, that this modern definition is taken often by societies just before they collapse. We do not have to look further than Paul to find evidence of a confused church, confused over the right way to tolerate. In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul directs the man with his father’s wife to be expelled from the church. Most likely, the Corinthians had thought themselves “tolerant” for accepting this man. In the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul directs the church again, this time to take the man back into the church, because he had repented of his misdeeds. In both cases, the early church was already committing our modern sin—redefining tolerance to be something that it should not be.

Those Christians who would be biblically tolerant would do well to remember the words of the Lord: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25). According to Jesus, losing our lifestyles is the only way in which we can find our own lives. We are not to be engaging in pitiful contests with each other, vaunting the comparative nature of our lifestyle. We are to be humble and penitent, lest we neglect the treasure which we have now found. The spreading of the gospel has been properly defined as one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread. The Bread is not to be found in lifestyles. We are but beggars.